Diet-to-Go review: Pros, cons, cost, and more

Share on Pinterest

Diet-to-Go offers a convenient way for a person to stick to a specific diet plan by delivering a weekly rotation of meals to their home. The company aims to make it as simple as possible for people to eat meals that help them achieve health and weight loss goals.

For example, a person can purchase meals for a low carb, ketogenic, or vegetarian diet or for a diet suitable for those with diabetes.

This article looks at how Diet-to-Go works, how much it costs, the menus a person can choose from, and the benefits and risks. It also compares the service with a few competitors.

Please note that no one at Medical News Today, including the writer, has tried this service. All information in this article is research-based.

Diet-to-Go is a meal delivery service focused on providing balanced, healthy meals. Chefs make the meals, and the service delivers them every week. Every meal comes fully prepared, so all a person has to do is heat it, which keeps preparation time very low.

Diet-to-Go aims to simplify the process of following a healthy diet that adheres to various lifestyles. It offers four menus, all made up of portion-controlled meals, for people following certain diets.

People who subscribe to Diet-to-Go can also benefit from support staff such as dietitians, nutritionists, and certified health coaches, as well as diet tools and analysis.

Diet-to-Go is for someone who wants to follow a set diet plan and would like delivery of prepared meals. It is also for people who want the convenience of a subscription meal delivery service but do not want a long-term contract.

The company says its plans are for those who want to lose weight and those who want to start or maintain healthy eating.

People who sign up for Diet-to-Go can choose from four diet plans:

• Balance
• Balance-Diabetes
• Keto-Carb30
• Vegetarian

The service bases calorie recommendations on a person’s starting weight and height. They also ask about a person’s age, goal weight, gender, and activity level to help determine daily calorie goals.

Diet-to-Go offers delivery for 5 or 7 days per week, with the option of two or three meals per day. The two-meal-a-day option does not include breakfast.

Every meal arrives fully prepared, meaning that a person just needs to heat it before eating.

The Diet-to-Go website calculates the cost of the plan according to the plan type and number of meals.

Shipping fees range from $9.99–$19.98 per delivery. Diet-to-Go adds this cost to the cost of the meals.

Meal costs by plan

• Balance (1,200 calories per day): $9.19–$13.10 per meal
• Balance (1,600 calories per day): $10.14–$13.90 per meal
• Balance-Diabetes: $9.19–$13.10 per meal
• Keto-Carb30: $10.46–$14.80 per meal
• Vegetarian: $9.19–$13.10 per meal

Each Diet-to-Go menu focuses on different nutritional needs and offers a specialized selection of meals depending on the particular plan and its aims.

A person can customize meal preferences at the time of ordering.

Balance

Diet-to-Go offers the Balance plan, their most popular plan, for people aiming to lose weight. The Diet-to-Go website also recommends this plan for people with prediabetes.

This plan includes 1,200 calories per day of meals. This falls below the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated calorie needs per day, and people may need to supplement the meals with snacks.

The Balance plan is calorie-controlled and nutritionally balanced to make sure people get a varied and balanced diet to help them lose weight in a healthy way.

The company limits the amounts of sodium, carbohydrates, fat, and cholesterol in each dish. Diet-to-Go claims that this makes the diet heart-healthy.

Scientific evidence suggests that a diet containing lower levels of refined carbohydrates, saturated fats, and trans fats may decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease.

For heart health, The American Heart Association recommends a diet that includes the following:

• a variety of fruits and vegetables
• whole grains
• low fat dairy
• healthy sources of protein, such as plant-based protein, seafood, and lean and unprocessed meat or poultry
• little to no salt
• no added sugars

The Balance plan offers the largest selection of meals and includes vegetarian options and dishes that are free from seafood. Therefore, people with seafood allergies can safely follow this meal plan. To ensure they receive dishes with no seafood, customers must choose the “no seafood” option when ordering.

Example breakfast, lunch, and dinner dishes from the Balance menu include:

• Breakfast: banana chocolate bar
• Lunch: turkey burger
• Dinner: shrimp Alfredo

Balance-Diabetes

The company has designed the Balance-Diabetes plan to be suitable for people with diabetes. It helps a person manage their blood sugar levels naturally. Chefs designed this plan to be both calorie-controlled and nutritionally balanced.

Diet-to-Go also moderates the amounts of sodium, carbohydrates, fat, and cholesterol in these meals.

Example breakfast, lunch, and dinner dishes from the Balance-Diabetes menu include:

• Breakfast: cinnamon walnut cereal
• Lunch: blackened salmon
• Dinner: Thai turkey tenderloin

Keto-Carb30

The company created the Keto-Carb30 plan for those on a low carb diet. It is a good option for people who wish to follow an Atkins-style carb-restricted diet to promote weight loss.

The menu includes meat, cheese, and eggs but provides only 30 net carbs per day on average, making it suitable for people following a ketogenic diet.

The company recommends against consuming fruit, bread, sugar, or other carbs alongside the Keto-Carb30 menu in order to stay within the ketogenic carb range.

Example breakfast, lunch, and dinner dishes from the Keto-Carb30 menu include:

• Breakfast: bacon and sausage egg bites
• Lunch: hamburger with Swiss cheese
• Dinner: pork spareribs

Vegetarian

The Vegetarian plan includes all the meatless and seafood-free dishes from the Balance plan.

The meals in this plan are calorie-controlled and provide balanced nutrition. The company claims that they promote heart health because each dish contains limited amounts of sodium, carbs, fat, and cholesterol.

To replace the protein that meat products provide, the Vegetarian plan includes dairy products, eggs, beans, and soy to create a balanced vegetarian meal plan for weight loss.

Example breakfast, lunch, and dinner dishes from the Vegetarian menu include:

• Breakfast: banana walnut muffin
• Lunch: spinach quesadilla
• Dinner: soy stir-fry

Diet-to-Go meal plans offer convenience as one of their main benefits. The company prepares, packs, and delivers every meal, so a person can reheat and eat it within minutes.

The variety of meal plans means that people following different diets, such as a ketogenic or vegetarian diet, can find a plan that will suit their dietary needs.

The portion-controlled meals may help a person reduce their daily calorie intake, and the ability to customize the meals may make them more appealing for some people.

Although meal delivery plans offer a convenient way to approach health, people interested in Diet-to-Go should consider the potential risks and downsides.

Diet-to-Go meal delivery plans may be too expensive for some people. The plans cost $130.99–$219.59 per week, plus delivery fees of $9.98–$19.98 per delivery. This may not be a sustainable amount for people with lower budgets to spend on food.

The delivery of food through courier services also comes with some risks. For instance, food needs to stay at a safe temperature to prevent spoilage. Improper food storage can lead to food poisoning.

However, all food delivery services come with this risk, not just Diet-to-Go.

People who are more likely to get food poisoning include:

• adults over age 65
• children under age 5
• people with a weakened immune system
• pregnant people

Once the food has arrived, a person should refrigerate or store it appropriately as soon as possible. Storing food properly helps prevent food poisoning.

Animals or pests may also contaminate meals if food sits outdoors for long periods. This scenario is possible if no one is present to accept the meal delivery when it arrives.

Additionally, some of the Diet-to-Go plans may not be safe for everyone. The calorie counts may not be enough for some people.

For example, females ages 19–30 should consume 1,800–2,400 calories per day, and males of the same ages should consume 2,400–3,000 calories, according to the USDA’s 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The recommended calorie intake is a bit less for people ages 31–59, at 1,600–2,200 for females and 2,200–3,000 for males.

Diet-to-Go plans suggest that men restrict calories to about 1,600 calories per day and that women place the limit at 1,200 calories. However, these totals are lower than the USDA’s recommended range.

People with diabetes should not go on the Keto-Carb30 diet, according to Diet-to-Go. A keto diet may also increase the chance of kidney stones. According to a 2021 meta-analysis of research, about 7.9% of adults on the keto diet develop kidney stones.

A person should consult a healthcare professional before beginning a new diet.

BistroMD, Jenny Craig, and Nutrisystem are some other diet meal delivery services that a person may choose.

Each company sets pricing according to plan and number of meals. Some plans include meals bundled with other services. For example, the Max Up Weight Loss Plan by Jenny Craig comes with personal coaching and snacks as well as meals.

Pricing can also vary significantly depending on limited-time sales and first-time customer discounts.

The company had a 3.5 out of 5 rating on Yelp, based on 266 reviews. Positive reviews mention that people like the food and report weight loss. Negative reviews report leaky packaging, excessive and hard-to-recycle packaging, and unresponsive customer service.

The company had one complaint with the Better Business Bureau from January 2021 that described challenges canceling the plan. The company resolved the complaint by refunding the charges.

At the time of publication, Diet-to-Go has only one rating on Trustpilot. The reviewer mentions that they did not like the food on the low carb plan and did not find the food filling. They gave the company 1 star.

Diet-to-Go is a popular meal delivery service. The company claims that it has been helping people achieve their weight goals for more than 30 years.

Although the company offers fewer dishes than some of its competitors, its service and meal costs are similar to those of other meal delivery services. It also offers four tailored menus for specific diet types.

When picking a meal delivery service, a person may wish to consider cost and food safety, as well as the menus available and the calories and nutrients each meal provides.

A person should consult a healthcare professional before trying a new diet to make sure that it is safe for them.

People can find out more about Diet-to-Go and sign up for the service here.

The following are frequently asked questions about Diet-to-Go.

Can people lose weight using Diet-to-Go?

Diet-to-Go does not guarantee that its meal plans will result in weight loss. However, the company shares success stories on its website of customers who have lost weight with the program.

How long do Diet-to-Go meals last?

Diet-to-Go meals are made fresh and shipped in insulated containers with cold packs. Deliveries to areas farther from the Diet-to-Go packing location are flash-frozen and shipped with dry ice.

Meals last up to 7 days in the refrigerator. Customers may also freeze meals for longer shelf life.

Which is better, Diet-to-Go or BistroMD?

Both Diet-to-Go and BistroMD offer a variety of plans designed for weight loss. However, the specific diets they cater to can differ.

Both offer a general option for weight loss and an option for people with diabetes. However, BistroMD also has menopause-friendly and gluten-free plans, while Diet-to-Go also has keto-carb and vegetarian plans.

Is Diet-to-Go expensive?

Diet-to-Go pricing includes the cost of meals and delivery. Customers may want to weigh the average meal cost and shipping fees against the convenience of a meal delivery service.

The company’s meals include sides and condiments. For some customers, this may mean lower grocery store costs because Diet-to-Go provides many food items.

Is Diet-to-Go organic?

Diet-to-Go claims to use organic ingredients wherever possible. However, it does not offer meals or ingredients labeled exclusively organic.